Method of laying roofs.



Patented uct. 2a, |902.

mvENToR #M4- ATToRNEY F. L. KANE.

METHOD 0F LAYING ROOFS.

(Application filed Mar. 7, 1902A (No Model.)

WITNESSES mzrmzmus Pneus cov. morouwo.. wAsnmcToN, n, c.

UNrrED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

FREDERICK L. KANE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF LAYING ROOFS.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 712,308, dated October28, 1902.

Application filed March 7, 1902. Serial No. 97,034. (No specimens.) y

`To a/ZZ who-m it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. KANE, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of New York city, county and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of LayingRoofs,of which the following is a specification..

-My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in themethod of laying roofs, and has for its object to produce a ro`of whichhas all the advantages of the ordinary form of an asphalt concrete roof,with none of its disadvantages.

The ordinary asphalt concrete roof as now laid consists of a number ofthicknesses of tarred paper or roongfelt,which are cemented together bypitch or asphalt, the pitcher asphalt being melted and applied hot, andwhen this pitch or asphalt cools it hardens and firmly binds the layersof paper or felt together. is laid a course of asphalt, the same as isused for streets, walks, floors, dac., in'a continuous sheet. Thisasphaltmust be laid hotand rolled or smoothed compact and level beforeit cools and hardens., Thisform of roof is very expensive to lay, Aitrequiring a very high degree of skill to get the concrete level andsmooth after it is applied, and it is impossible to prevent the thinlayer of asphalt concrete from cracking after it becomes hard. Anothergreat objection to this form of roof is that the application of the hotconcrete 0n top of the tarred paper or roofing-felt will drive the pitchand tar out of the paper, and

the heat will also cause the oils'in the pitch i and tar to penetrateinto the concrete, causing blisters and soft spots in the concrete andpreventing the same from becoming uniformly hard.

By my invention I' am enabled to lay the v concrete cold and form aconcrete roof for a On top of layers of tarred paper y twelve inchessquare, the tiles being made in an ordinary press or in any other waydesired. t

I prefer to lay the roof in the following manner: I first put down anumber of layers of tarred paper or roofing-felt and cement the sametogether by applying coatings of hot pitch or asphalt, above referredto, .or any other material or composition may be used, it only beingnecessary that a base be formed which is a bituminous one. layer of feltor tarred paper or other bituminous base I place a thin coat ofasphaltic cement consisting of a mixture of pitch, as-

phalt, or other bituminous material with a solvent volatile oil-such asnaphtha, benzin, ether, or similar substance-such mixture being ofaboutthe consistency of paint and is applied coldwith a brushorfanyother suitable way. I then lay the concrete tiles on top of thiscoating with their edges close together. I have discovered that theasphalt or other bituminous material in the base and in the concretetiles when so laid will be slightly softened by the volatile solvent inthe cement at the surface in contact with such cement and that when thevolatile solvent evaporates the tiles, cement, and base of tarred paper,felt, or other bituminous material make practically one solid mass.

best described as a kind of a weld. In this way a roof is produced whichis exceedingly cheap to lay, which is not affected by atmosphericconditionssuch as frost, &c.-and which is durable and absolutelywater-tight.

Referring to the drawing, wherein I show a section of a roof laid inaccordance with my invention, l designates the arches or trusses onwhich the roof'is supported. These trusses form no part of'my inventionand are merely shown for the sake of clearness.v n

2 designates the base, which preferably is formed of layers of tarredfelt or paper, and, as shown, these layers are cemented together bymelted pitch or asphalt in the ordinary Way; but the base may be formedin any This union can be Over the top' other way that may befound'desirable, it

only being necessary that it be composed of a bituminous material.

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3 designates a thin layer of cement, which l pitch, asphalt, or otherbituminous material and a solvent, preferably a volatile solvent oilsuchas naphtha, benzin, ether, or other similar substances-it being entirelyimmaterial, so far as the invention is concerned, what solvent is used,so long as it is one which will dissolve or cut the asphalt or otherbituminous material. The solvent oil and pitch or asphalt are mixed insuch proportions as to produce a paint or cement, and this paint orcement is applied cold in any desired way. After the cement has beenapplied to the roof the concrete tiles 4 are simply laid thereon cold.rlhe solvent oil in the cement will immediately attack the surface ofthe tiles in contact therewith and slightly soften that part thereof, asabove described. When the tiles are laid on the cement, which is beforethe Volatile oils have had time to evaporate and is consequently soft,some of the cement oozes up between the joints, and in that Way theadjacent faces of the tiles are slightly softened and made to adhere toeach other, so that when the oil has all evaporated and the asphalthardened the tiles form a practically continuous surface. r

While I prefer to mix the solvent oil with a bituminous material, I donot intend to limit myself to such mixture, for I may use the solventoil as the welding or solvent medium alone and without such bituminousmixture-that is to say, I may apply the solvent oil directly to the baseor the tile, or to both, and lay the one on the other, and thus completethe union, as described-for it Will be understood that I only employ thebituminous material in the paint described as a convenient means ofcarrying and applying the solvent and as a supplement to the amount ofbituminous material desirable for the Weld; but if the tile and base aresufficiently rich in bituminous material to be affected by the solventoil to make the Weld then the solvent oil will attack the bituminousmaterial in the tile and base and sufficiently dissolve the same tocause the union; but in practice I have found that I obtain good resultsby using the solvent oil in combination with a suitable amount ofbituminous material to make a paint-like substance, as described.

While I have stated in my specification that I apply my cement cold witha brush, I do not intend by such statement to be limited to anyparticular degree of temperature. I have used this expression only todistinguish my method of laying an asphalt roof from that which hasheretofore been employed, wherein the asphalt has been applied in a hotand plastic condition. It will be understood, of course, that thesolvent paint or solvent oil will take the temperature of theatmosphere. If the atmosphere is very cold, it may be desirable to heatthe solvent volatile oil or mixture of solvent volatile oil andbituminous substance to about 100". The degree of temperature isimmaterial for the purposes of my invent-ion, it being only necessarythat the solvent oil or the solvent oil and bituminous substance be insuch a plastic condition that it could be readily applied as indicated.

Bythe use of asphalt tiles secured to a suitable base of bituminousmaterial I am enabled to form a roof which has all the advan tages ofthe ordinary form of asphalt roof which I have previously described, butat a much less cost.

Another one of the advantages of using a tile formed of asphaltconcrete, as I have described, is that this tile at the ordinarytemperature is somewhat pliable and Will conform itself to anyinequalities there may be in the roof due to the settling of thebuilding or from any other cause.

I am aware that it is old to la)7 a roof composed of a base made uplayers of felt or tarred paper cemented together by bituminous cementcomposed of asphalt or other cementing composition and to cover thiswith a layer of clay or pottery tiles, which are secured to the base bycement. This form of roof, however, has the objection that as the tilesare not pliable and will not conform to any inequality in the roof theywill separate from the cement and become loose on the roof, thusdestroying their efficiency. By the use of a tile made of bituminousmaterial, such as I have described, I am able to prepare in advance thewearing-surface of the roof by the manufacture of the tiles described ina convenient form, in which they may be readily handled and applied.This I regard as of essential importance, rather than applying theWearing-surface in a plastic state, such as that heretofore described.Furthermore, by the interposition between the bituminous base and thebituminous tile of a bituminous cement I am able to create a homogeneousunion which is obviously very different from that union which is broughtabout by laying a pottery tile on a bituminous base and securing thesame thereto by cement.

As heretofore stated, I am aware that it is old to secure pottery tilesto a bituminous base by a cement; but I believe that it is new with `meto make the Whole structure one bitumin'ous mass in the manner and formspecified by me.

While I have designated my invention as pertaining to improvement inmethod of making roofs, I do not intend to be limited to the use of myinvention for roofs alone, as it may be employed for the making offloors, area-ways, or other purposes to which it may obviously beapplied.

While I have described what I believe to be the best form ofmyinvention, I desire to be understood that I do not Wish to be limitedto the exact constituents and materials which I have described, as otherconstituents and materials might be substituted and other changes madewithout departing from my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

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1. An improvement in the art of laying roofs or other coverings whichconsists in forming a base of bituminous material; then applying a layerof bituminous cement; and then applying a second layer of bituminousmaterial in the form of independent elements previously shaped intodefinite and permanent form, the base and layer of bituminous materialbeing united by the bituminous cement.

2. An improvement in the art of laying roofs or other coverings whichconsists in forming a base ofbituminous material; then applying a layerof cement composed of bitu minous material and a solvent oil; and thenapplying a second layer of bituminous mateterial in the form ofindividual elements previously shaped into definite and permanent form,the base and second layer of bituminous material being united by thesolvent cement.

3. An improvement in the art of laying roofs or other coverings whichconsists in rst forming a base of bituminous material, then applying alayer of bituminous material in the form of individual elementspreviously shaped into denite and permanent form and uniting the twolayers by the use of a solvent oil interposed between them.

4. An improvement in the art of laying roofs or othercoverings whichconsists in first forming a base of layers of tarred paper or felt; thenapplyinga layer of bituminous material in the form of individualelements prevously shaped into definite and permanent form and unitingthe base and the second layer by the use of a solvent oil interposedbetween them.

5. An improvement in the art of laying roofs or other coverings whichconsists in first forming a base of layers of tarred paper or felt; thenapplying alayer of bituminous material in the form of individualelements previously shaped into definite and permanent form and unitingthe base and the layer of bituminous material by interposing betweenthem a cement made of bituminous material and a solvent oil orsubstance.

6. An improvement in the art of laying roofs or other coverings whichconsists in first forming a base by laying down one or more layers oftarred paper or feltand uniting the same by a coating of, and coatingthe same with, a bituminous cement; then applying a second layercomposed of bituminous material mixed with gravel in the form ofindividual elements previously shaped into detinite and permanent formand uniting the second layer with the base by the use of a cement madeof bituminous material and a solvent volatile oil.

Signed by me at New York city, county and State of New York, this 28thday of February, 1902.

FREDERICKy L. KANE.

Witnesses:

SIDNEY R. PERRY, EMMA W. FINLAYsoN.

